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Wednesday, June 6, 2012

One Good Way To...{Use Natural Air Fresheners to Make Your Home Smell Great}

Before we get going on giving our homes a pleasant scent [alternative post title for my life: One Good Way To Get Rid Of The Lingering Smell Of A Dirty Diaper], let me explain that this is post number one in what I plan to be a regular feature where I write about one GOOD way to do something. As in, one GOOD ENOUGH way. Not the BEST way, not the PERFECT way, but one decent way to do something.

Why not the BEST way? We'll talk about that at the end of the post. First, the deets on making your home smell good.

We were gone on vacation this past weekend. When we returned home, the air in our house smelled a little stale. This morning I opened up all the windows to get some airflow, but it just wasn't enough. During the winter I often put a small pot of water on the stove, filled with aromatics like orange slices, cinnamon sticks, and cloves, but that mixture definitely smells like Christmas. I needed something fresher and less identifiable, so I used a mixture of lemons, vanilla, and thyme. This simple, natural recipe makes the house smell wonderful, without the cloying sweetness of a lot of scented candles or all the chemicals of air freshener sprays. I would have loved to use fresh thyme, but I didn't have any. Rosemary would also be great.

Thickly slice the lemons and place in a small saucepan with vanilla and herbs. Fill pan with water to cover. Place on stove over medium heat, uncovered. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to lowest setting and allow to simmer as long as desired. Add more water as necessary. You can use the same mixture for a couple of days before discarding.

I think I'm going to save my thoughts on GOOD vs. PERFECT for another post. See you soon!

Anyone have any other good room freshening or deodorizing techniques? Any other aromatic recipes for the stove? What's your favorite scent for your home? What products do you use?

P.S. -- Taking photographs is definitely something I hope to improve at over time. Bear with my amateur skills, please!

32 comments:

Continuing to be in awe of your writing skills and so in awe of you doing this blog and sticking to it. I'm sure it will be a great thing to show to potential employers when you are ready for that. You go girl! :)

Glad I followed your FB link to get here...might just inspire me to start blogging again. :)

Love the lemon ideas -will have to try next time I have one lying around. I'm a bit of a home-fragrance nut and think I have tried almost every product under the sun. I love some of the Scentsy fragrances that I have discovered (no surprise there) :) Not the most cost-effective method (a five-dollar bar will give me 1-2 weeks of strong scent having it running most of the day every day), but the fragrances have a great depth -unlike that shallow sickly-sweetness you get with lot of candles. I also love Yankee candles, but again, not the kindest on your pocketbook. I've discovered that my favorite smells are usually quite sweet and comforting but not too sugary, flowery, exotic, or spicy (except at Christmastime). Honey Pear Cider (by Scentsy)is my favorite so far. I've also discovered that I really like Jasmine.